Keg-imprecnating device, etc



March 18, 1930. c. FIELD 1,751,140

KEG IMPREGNATING DEVICE, ETC

Filed Aug. 29, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet l ATTORNEYS March 18, 1930. c. FIELDKEG IMPREGNATING DEVICE, ETC

Filed Aug. 29, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Q05 75% I Kym,

755 ATTORNEY$ Patented Mar. 18, 1930 cairn v5;;

CROSBY FIELD, OF-YONKERS, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO NATIONAL ANILINE & CHEMICAL '00., ING, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION 01 NEW YORKKEG-IMPREGNATING DEVICE, ETC.

Application filed. August 29, 1923.

vThis invention relates to an impregnated keg or other slmilar woodencontainer which is intended to be used for the transportation 'orstorage of various products which are inured by the loss of theirmoisture content to the atmosphere through the walls of the container,or by the absorption of moisture from the atmosphere through thesewalls.

The deterioration or loss of various chemical products by reason ofleakage through the walls of the container presents a serious problem,especially when the materials are to be transported for great distances,and it has been common practice; hitherto to make use of a containerwhich has been treated with various substances which are intended toprevent such leakage. One form of container used for this purposeconsists of a keg, the staves and heads of which have been immersed inan inert material, usually heated, and the impregnation takes placethroughout thesurfaces of the container and the impregnating materialenters'to aconsiderable depth into the wood. Such a container as this,however, is not altogether satisfactory, as it is found that thiscomplete impregnation makes the wooden parts more or less brittle andthe keg does not stand up in service. Also if the parts are treatedprior to their assembly, then the staves are not bound together andleakage may occur between the edges of the staves and also between thestaves and edges of the heads.

Another method by which attempts have been made to solve the problemconsists in introducing a coatingunaterial such as par- .arffin into theke throu h the bun hole closing the bung and rocking or manipulating thekeg so as to bring the molten. paraffin into contact with all of theinner surfaces. The

bung is then removed and the surplus liquid drained off. By this methodthe entire inner surface of the keg is coated with a layer of inertmaterial, but it is found that such a coating is likely to chip or flakeoff in service. This is perhaps due to the fact that the pores of thewood are filled with air and the paraffin spreading over the surfaceseals the air in the pores. This confined air, expanding and contractingupon temperature changes,

Serial No. 659,869.

serves to loosen the paraffin lining and cause it to chip off in spots.It is possible, also, that this confined air forms a thinfilm betweenthe paraffin and the wood fibre, which preing :loose of particles of thecoating not only makes an imperfect lining, but the loosened materialenters the contents of the keg'and in many cases this is a detrimentalcont-amination.

The object of the present invention is to provide a keg which isimpregnated in such a manner as to have a lining of inert material whichis continuous and not easily chipped off, and also to provide a keg soimpregnated as not to weaken the material forming the. staves, Anotherob3ect of the invention 1s to provide a process and apparatus by whichsuch an impregnation process, may be carried on with a minimumexpenditure of the im pregnating material. v r

in producing the new impregnated keg the first step in the process isthe evacuation of the keg by means'of a vacuum pump. With the vacuummaintained the molten paraffin is introduced into the keg and caused tocover all of the interior surfaces thereof. The

evacuation serves to free the pores of the wood from air bubbles or toremove the-air. film, as the case may be, and the lmpreg'nating materialis absorbed to a slight depth in these walls. After the impregnatingmaterial has been allowed to remain in contact with the walls for such alength of time as is found necessary to produce a product of the desiredcharacteristics, it is allowed to flow out so as to leave a thin film orcoating on the walls. The vacuum is then broken and the air rushing infrom the atmosphere not only serves to cool and solidify this coating,

but also exerts a force upon it,tending to 1 ing the factors of time,vacuum, air pressure,

7 temperature, and amount of paraffin, the coating is easily controlledand made suitable for the particular service desired. This impregnatingfilm protects the product 111 the container and prevents theloss orabsorption of moisture through the container walls but does not extendinto'these walls such a distance as would impair the strength of thewood. The keg then'is substantially as strong as an untreated keg, sincethe great part of the thickness of the staves is in its Also theoriginal unimpregnatedcondition. impregnating material is firmly boundin place and does not readily chip or flake. At the conclusion of thetreatment the excess of impregnating material, which is still molten,

is recovered and returned to a suitable vat or as desired. '7 g 7 Oneform of apparatus by which the proctank from which it may again bewithdrawn ess, above briefly described, may be carried on is illustratedin the form in which it is at present preferred in the accompanyingdrawings, in which 7 f Fig. 1 is a vertical cross-section showing a kegin position in the apparatus, the keg being shown partially inelevation,

.Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic elevation showing the complete lay-out,

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view on the line 33 of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view onthe line 44 of Fig. 1. y

In these drawings there is shown a vessel 5, provided with hollowtrunnions 6, 6 extending from the outer wallsthereof. This vessel may beof any desired material but is preferably constructed of metal, such asiron or steel, provided with a layer of heat insulatingmaterial 7. e V

The vessel is supported on the trunnions 6, 6 in suitable bearings 8, 8supported on legs 9, 9 in any convenient location. At its upper end thevessel is provided with a cover 10,

hinged as at 11, which may be locked in place by means of a quick-actinglatch 12, hinged on the wall of the vessel at a pointopposite the coverhinge. The rim of the vessel is provided with a channeled member 13 inwhich is mounted a packing ring 14 by means of which the cover may besealed so as to make an air-tight joint with the end of the vessel. Onits inner face the cover is provided with guide flanges 15 which serveto center and hold in position the keg 16 which is to be treated. Theinner walls of the vessel are also provided with guide members 1' 7,

secured to the walls in any desired manner I and shaped to conform tothe shape of the keg.

' Welded or otherwise secured to the inner walls of the vessel in anydesired manner is a head 18, this head being spaced inwardly from thelower end of the vessel so as to form a chamber 19 having a capacityequalto or preferably greater than 'the capacity of the keg. This headhas a plurality of supports 20 extending upwardly from itsupper'surface, the supports being so arranged that the ends of the kegstaves will rest upon them so The head is, also provided with aplurality of spaced apertures 21.

as to support the keg.

bears at one end against the plate 23 and at the other against the innerface of the flange 25. As will be seen in Fig. 1, when a keg 16 isplaced in position to rest on the supports 20 with its bung 28 downward,the sleeve 24 will be forced upward by means of its spring to force thegasket 26 against the head, so

that the keg is resilientlyheld against th trunnionis closed by a cap30, provided with a gasket 31'through which extends a pipe '32 whichforms part of thevacuumdine. As 1 will be seen in Fig. 2, this pipe 32is provided with a gauge 33, and a valve 34 and is connected to areceiver 35 which is also in communication with the vacuum pump. The

7 other trunnion is provided with a similar cap and gasket 30, 31 andthrough this cap eX- tends the end of a pipe 36, the lower end of whichenters a vessel 37 in which the impreghating material is to be heated.Referring particularly to Fig. 2, it will be noted that this vesselisprovided with a steam coil 38 and with a float 39 having an indicatingrod '40 extending upwardly therefrom and serving to indicate the levelof the liquid in the 'tank on a scale 41 located at a convenient pointnear the trunnions. 'There is a valve 42 in the line 36 so that the flowof liquid through this line may be controlled. .EX-

tending downwardly from the trunnion 6, i

which is in communication with the line 36,

is a pipe 43, provided with a T 44 to which is connected a nipple 45,extending through the wall of the vessel and connected by suitablefittings to a T 46, connected with a nipple 47 extending downwardly anda long nipple 48 extending upwardly therefrom, the upper nipple being ofsufficient length to extend through the sleeve '24; and enter the kegthrough the bung hole. The various threaded connections, by means ofwhich the nipple 48 is connected to the nipple 45, permit of a certainfreedom of movement in the position taken by the nipple so that in casethe bung hole in the keg is not exactly centered the sleeve may be movedin the arcuate aperture 22 in the head 18, and the nipple may also beswung so as "totake the position necessary for it to enter the bunghole. Thisfreedom of movement is illustrated in Fig. 4;.

At the lower end the vessel is provided with a domed head 49 at thebottom of which is .an aperture50 encircled by-a channeled flange 51, inwhich is mounted a gasket 52 and overlying this aperture is a flap door53, hinged at 54 to the end wall. Mounted in any desired manner belowthe vessel, as is shown in Fig. 2, is a conical tank 55 provided in itslower end with a screen56 and an outlet 57, this outlet directing thecontents of the tank into the heated tank 37.

The vessel is also provided with an upstanding handle 58, by means ofwhich it may be rocked .on its'trunnions for a purpose later to bedescribed.

In operation the keg 16 is placed in the position shown in Fig. 1, withthe nipple 48 e;\'- tending through the bung hole and the keg properlycentered by the guides 15 and 111'. The cover 10 isthen closed andlocked in position. The vessel is now rotatedon its trunnions so as toplace the keg with its longitudinal axis vertical, with the bunghole up,and the flap door closed by gravity. The valve in the paraifin line isnow closed and the vessel placed in communication with the vacuum lineby opening the valve 34. This exhausts the interior of the vessel andthe keg and is carried on until the desired degree of vacuum isindicated on the gauge 33. The

vacuum line is then closed, the parafiin line opened anda quantity ofparaflin admitted to the keg suificient to fill it, this amount beingindicated by the float moving the rod l0 over the scale 41. After thedesired amount of paraffin has flowed into the keg the paraflin line isclosed and the keg rocked to the reverse position, as is shown in Fig;1, with the bung hole down. The paraffin the-n flows out into thechamber 19 below the head 18 and in doing so a thin film of parallin isleft on the inner walls of the keg. The vacuum is now broken and thisfilm is immediately solidified and forced into the walls of the lzeg byatmospheric pressure! Upon the breaking of the vacuum the flapper valve'53 immediately :opens, since it has been held in position only y t hevacuum, and the paraffin flows out into the conical tank 55, thencethrough the screen and to the heated tank. From time to time additionalparaflin is placed in the heated tank as may be desired. Upon-theremoval of the excess paratfin the operation is carried on with vesselis rotated to any desired position, the latch unlocked,the cover openedand the keg is then removed and a new one inserted.

It will be seen that by this process the keg is impregnated to a slightdepth which may only over the stavesbut across the seams between them.The expenditure of pa'raliin is, therefore, relatively small and thecoating great rapidity. It has been found that a coating applied by thisnew process is not only uniform but also firmly bound in place so thatit hits no tendency to chip off so that leakage may occur.

While the new container has been 'illus trated and described in the formof a wood keg impregnated with as the inert material, it will be seenthat various other forms of container may be produced with equalfacility, and that'other impregnating material may also be used.'The'process of treatment for the production of such containers,however, remains substantially the same, regardless of the shape andformof the container, the material of which itfis made, and the materialwith which it "is inipregnated.

I claim:

1. A process for partially impregnating the walls of acontainerwhi'cl-icomprises submitting the container to a vacuum, introducing a liquidimpregnating medium into the container while maintaining the vacuum, j

withdrawing the 'eiices inedium *to-leai-e a film thereof overanew-auger the eont'arner and thereafter breaking the vacuum ile thematerial in the iii-m is still in a liquid condition.

2. A processes for partially impregnating the walls of a container 'w'hl1 eomprises submitting the contain r to-a vac li lh mg the containerwith a ll -u1d imp medium, allowing the me chum to'drain fnom thecontainer to leave a thin :lilm of the medium on walls thereof and thenbreak;

the vacuum while the material in the film is still liquid.

A process' for partially impregnating the walls of a container whichcomprises placing the container :in a closed chamber, exhausting the olramiber and container, intro duel ng a liquid impregnating medium intothe container while maintaining the vacuum, allowing the excess liquidmaterial tho-drain from the container into the chamber to leave a thinfilm of thetrne'dium on the inneriuvialls of the :eontaianer :a n'dftlhen breaking the vacuum to solidify this film. I

LA process :fer partially pregnaitimrg the walls of .a containerwhichcomprises placing the container in a closed chamber, exhausting thechamber and container, introducing molten parafiin into the containerWhile maintaining the vacuum, allowing the excess paraflin to drain fromthe container "removalof the impregnatingcmedium.

6. Apparatus for partially impregnating the walls of a container whichcomprises a vessel, resilient means for supporting a con taincr therein,means for exhausting the vessel and container, means for introducing animpregnating liquid into the container while thevacuum is -maintained,and a compartment in the vessel" adapted to receive theli uid introducedinto the container.

Apparatus for partially impregnating the walls of a container whichcomprises a rotatably mounted vessel, provided with an air-tight closureat one end, a resilient support within the vessel fora container, acompartment in theother endof the vessel, a closure for the compartment,means for exhausting the vessel and container and means for introducingan impregnating liquid into the container through thecompartment whilevmaintaining the vacuum.

8. Apparatus for partially impregnating the Walls'of a containerwh'ichcomprises a .vessel'having an air-tight closure at one end, a head inthe vessel providing a compartment in the other end thereof, meansmounted in the head for resiliently supporting a con tainer against theclosure, means for ,ex-'

hausting the vessel and container, means for introducing an impregnatingliquid into the container and an outlet'communicating with thecompartment.

, .9. Apparatus for partially impregnating the walls of a containerwhich comprises a vessel provided with a closure at one end andan.apertured head within the vessel forming a compartment. in the otherend, means for resiliently supporting a container within the vessel, avacuum pump communicating with the vessel through valved connections, asource of supply of impregnating liquid communicating with the vessel,and an outlet for the liquid from a compartment.

10. Apparatus for partially impregnating the walls of a container whichcomprises a vessel, a support for a container therein,

' means for sealing the vessel, a vacuum pump in communication with thevessel, a supply container, a supply of impregnating material,

means for introducing such material into the contalner while the vacuum1s mamtalned and means for lndlcating the amount of material sointroduced.

12. Apparatus for partially impregnating the walls of aicontainer whichcomprises a vessel supportedon hollowtrunnions and provided with a headforming. a compartment in communication with the main body of thevessel, a closure for the vessel, an outlet from the compartmentprovided with a closure, a resilient support for a container. within thevessel, a vacuum pump'connected with the interior of the vessel throughan aperture in the wall thereof and through one of the trunnions, asupply of impregnating material connected with the other trunnion,a'pipe from this trunnion extending through the wall of the vessel andhavingits end portion adapted to enter the container, a handle on thevessel for rocking the latter to permit the'liquid in the container todrain into the compartment, and an outlet from the comy partmentprovided with a closure.

13. Apparatus for partially impregnating the walls of a container whichcomprises a vessel supported on hollow trunnions and provided with ahead forming a compartment in communication with the main body of thevessel, a closure for the vessel, an outlet from the compartmentprovided with a closure, a resilient support for a container within thevessel, a vacuum pump connected with the interior of the vessel throughan aperture in the wall thereof and through one of the trunnions, asupply of impregnating material connected with the other trunnion, apipe from this trunnion extending through the wall of the vessel andhaving its end portion adapted to enter the container, a handle on thevessel for rocking the latter to permit the liquid in the container todrain into the compartment, an outlet from the compartment, and meansdisposed below the vessel for restoring to the source of supply theliquid drained from the compartment.

14:. Apparatus for partially impregnating the walls of a container whichcomprises a vessel, a support for a container therein, a head in thevessel forming a compartment in communication with the main bodythereof,

means for exhausting the vessel and container, means for introducing animpregnating liquid into the vessel while a vacuum is maintained, meansfor rocking the vessel to permit the material to flow from the'containerinto the compartment and means for automatically releasing the liquidfrom the compartment When the vacuum is broken.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

CROSBY FIELD.

